London, Dec 30 : Branding on cigarette packets attracts more youngsters, according to a new report.

It says young people would be less likely to smoke if cigarettes were sold in plain packaging," Sky News reported.

Almost 70 percent of young people surveyed by The British Heart Foundation said they considered cigarette packets to be a form of advertising.

And a quarter of young smokers wrongly believed that some brands were less harmful than others purely on the basis of the design of the packs.

"As informed adults, we know that smoking is a deadly addiction that kills half of all smokers," said Betty McBride, director of policy and communications at the British Heart Foundation.

"But young people are not always fully aware of the risks, and the power of branding holds more sway.

"Tobacco advertising is rightly banned in the UK. Yet current glitzy packaging clearly still advertises tobacco on the cigarette box.

"It's an absurd loophole the tobacco industry takes full advantage of to lure in new young smokers.

"We must close it if we really want to protect younger generations from taking up this fatal habit," she added. (ANI)